Replies (1 - 23)

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

Hebrews

A bible study and discussion.

22 I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, to pay attention to what I have written in this brief exhortation. Heb 13:22 NLT

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

Coleridge said that Romans revealed the necessity of the Christian faith but that Hebrews revealed the superiority of the Christian faith.
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary:







This Epistle to the Hebrews was not accepted by the western church for a long time, and the reason is found at this particular juncture: the church wanted to usurp the place of Israel. They adopted all the promises God had made to Israel and spiritualized them, applying them to themselves and rejecting God’s purposes in the nation Israel. As a result, you’ll find that the church in those early days became actually anti–Semitic and persecuted the Jew! Therefore, to say that God is through with the nation Israel is a sad blunder, and I trust that this episode may be helpful in our understanding the great truth that a Hebrew is a Hebrew, and when he becomes a Christian, he is still a Hebrew. When any person becomes a child of God, it does not change his nationality at all, but it brings him into a new body of believers called the church. Today God is calling out of both Jews and Gentiles a people for His name.
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary:









Interpretive Challenges
A proper interpretation of this epistle requires the recognition that it addresses 3 distinct groups of Jews: 1) believers; 2) unbelievers who were intellectually convinced of the gospel; and 3) unbelievers who were attracted by the gospel and the person of Christ but who had reached no final conviction about Him. Failure to acknowledge these groups leads to interpretations inconsistent with the rest of Scripture.
The primary group addressed were Hebrew Christians who suffered rejection and persecution by fellow Jews (10:32–34), although none as yet had been martyred (12:4). The letter was written to give them encouragement and confidence in Christ, their Messiah and High-Priest. They were an immature group of believers who were tempted to hold on to the symbolic and spiritually powerless rituals and traditions of Judaism.
The second group addressed were Jewish unbelievers who were convinced of the basic truths of the gospel but who had not placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their own Savior and Lord. They were intellectually persuaded but spiritually uncommitted. These unbelievers are addressed in such passages as 2:1–3; 6:4–6; 10:26–29; and 12:15–17.
The third group addressed were Jewish unbelievers who were not convinced of the gospel’s truth but had had some exposure to it. Chapter 9 is largely devoted to them (see especially vv. 11,14,15,27,28).
By far, the most serious interpretive challenge is found in 6:4–6. The phrase “once enlightened” is often taken to refer to Christians, and the accompanying warning taken to indicate the danger of losing their salvation if “they fall away” and “crucify again for themselves the Son of God.” But there is no mention of their being saved and they are not described with any terms that apply only to believers (such as holy, born again, righteous, or saints). This problem arises from inaccurately identifying the spiritual condition of the ones being addressed. In this case, they were unbelievers who had been exposed to God’s redemptive truth, and perhaps made a profession of faith, but had not exercised genuine saving faith. In 10:26, the reference once again is to apostate Christians, not to genuine believers who are often incorrectly thought to lose their salvation because of their sins.
MacArthur, John Jr: The MacArthur Study Bible









The use of the present tense in 5:1–4; 7:21,23,27,28; 8:3–5,13; 9:6–9,13,25; 10:1,3,4,8,11; and 13:10,11 would suggest that the Levitical priesthood and sacrificial system were still in operation when the epistle was composed. Since the temple was destroyed by General (later Emperor) Titus Vespasian in A.D. 70, the epistle must have been written prior to that date. In addition, it may be noted that Timothy had just been released from prison (13:23) and that persecution was becoming severe (10:32–39; 12:4; 13:3). These details suggest a date for the epistle around A.D. 67–69.
MacArthur, John Jr: The MacArthur Study Bible

[seeking_truth_1]

Would you consider perhaps starting at Hebrews 1:1?

That way you can get the entire Book in context

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

Would you consider perhaps starting at Hebrews 1:1?

That way you can get the entire Book in context

Ya, start from the beginning.
I only put that verse from chapter 13 because it is a good reminder of how important this book and the word of God is.

So, here we go.
We can start with verse one go on from there.



The Letter to the Hebrews

Chapter 1

God’s Final Word in His Son

1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

[GoodDay]

Would you consider perhaps starting at Hebrews 1:1?

That way you can get the entire Book in context

Ya, start from the beginning.
I only put that verse from chapter 13 because it is a good reminder of how important this book and the word of God is.

So, here we go.
We can start with verse one go on from there.



The Letter to the Hebrews

Chapter 1

God's Final Word in His Son

1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

Thanks Kevin for sharing the enlightening informative Hebrew 13 post and the other posts.

This is a good idea to start at the beggining but at the same time using cross referencing is a needed thing.
Also, it is always good to read a apistle in full while breaking it apart in small bits from the beggining to the end.

It is not a novel and cannot be read that way as you know by seeing chapter 13 being a great place to start.
Paul

This post has been edited by GoodDay: Jun 23 2010, 11:12 AM

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
Hebrews 1:1-2 NASB

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Verse 2 says that Jesus is speaking to us.
This is the most amazing thing!
To be given the opportunity and privilege to hear the Son, Jesus Christ. To be able to converse with Him, to talk to Him, to hear from Him.
I wonder what is was like for Moses to speak with God...
6 He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.
I shall speak with him in a dream.
7 “Not so, with My servant Moses,
He is faithful in all My household;
8 With him I speak mouth to mouth,
Even openly, and not in dark sayings,
And he beholds the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant, against Moses?”
Numbers 12:6-8 NASB

What a wonderful thing it would be to know God more.
I thank God for speaking to me and hearing me, but I seem to mess things up so much, that I at times wish I could be in a better communication with our loving Creator.

34 “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.
35 “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3: 34-36 NASB














These first two verses also bring to first importance the deity of Jesus Christ.
The deity of Jesus is and always will be the hub of Christianity.
If we reject the deity of Jesus Christ, we reject Christianity.

Here are some other verses that help to clarify...

19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, Colossians 1:15 NASB

16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. John 1:16 NASB


9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, Col 2:9 NASB

18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
2 Corin 5: 18-19 NASB





Does anybody else have any thoughts they would like to share on either the general purpose of the book of Hebrews, or on these first two verses?
Maybe we will wait a few days before moving on to verses 3 to 14.

Kevin Nazaroff

[stevepiv]

Good thoughts Kevin.

It is such a blessing that words cannot describe at times to think that we can Pray and Talk to Our Lord, to Our God.

As a fellow brother told me:

"There was a person having trouble being inspired to read the Bible, it just didn't seem exciting, kind of boring...so, he asked an elder for advice. The elder gave him back this response: DON'T READ THE BIBLE LIKE IT IS SOMEONE ELSE'S MAIL. READ IT AS IF GOD HIMSELF IS WRITING A LETTER TO YOU!"

So, when we read Hebrews or any other book, I think it is a very special privilege and good advice to read it as a letter from God. The Word is ALIVE and the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us, Jesus Christ.

[GoodDay]

Kevin,
Thanks for the post that shows the clarity of Hebrews 6. It gets so mis-used by them who don't look at the whole context of what the author is saying. The Author being God Himself as it is with all Scripture. I have been told that about that Scripture so many times. Their is one other line in one of the books of Peter that they will use as well. They will base everything of two tiny lines when so much other Scripture shows other wise. When I was born from above, I would hear that and I could not explain it, but The Spirit in me was just unsettled about it for some reason and now I know why.

What I like about this letter is that it doesn't mention who is actually writing it and to whom it's truly being written to. I am reading a little note on a bible here and it's saying that it was called 'The Letter To The Hebrews' based off of an assumption that the recipients were Jewish Christians. I think there are several theories.

Paul is very consistent in his letters with his greetings and farewells etc.. and Hebrews shows complete opposite showing it to be from another source.

With that in mind, as you and Steve both mentioned, how awesome it is to know that Jesus speaks directly to us! This letter doesn't have me thinking up pictures in my head of what Apostle Paul is doing as he is writing and what the readers are acting like when then are reading it. It rids of all that and with that we can allow it to speak more directly to us straight from Jesus. It's a nice change to just be able to accept the message while being clueless who the messenger is. It's a more direct communication and a more personal one. And just as The Story of The Good Samaritan, it never says who the person ways that was robbed and beaten and left there. It just says a certain man. I take that as God purposely didn't say any more than that because it has no importance what so ever. And Just like Hebrews, it really is not important who's hand was holding the pen, and this way we can just imagine God Himself writing it directly to us because it really was Him.

Paul

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
Hebrews 1:1-2 NASB
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What continues to stand out with these two verses is that God speaks to us through His Son.
And if we personalize it, like brother Steve and brother Paul mentioned, it really comes alive.

For example, we can PRAY-read it like this,
God, speak to me, this very day. Help me to hear your voice, help me to really know you Jesus. Open my heart to you and help me to continue to know you and understand you. Speak to me as I read your word, speak to my heart and mind and transform me to what you want me to be, and purge out anything that is not right in me. Just like you spoke to your children long ago, continue to speak to me today....


Also, in personalizing the scriptures, we must remember to keep the scripture in the context that is was written.
And just like it was brought out in one of the first posts, the book of Hebrews was mainly written for the "chosen" children of God, who we commonly call Jews, or Hebrews.


And lastly, it is my goal to take the whole book of Hebrews and study it verse by verse.
No time frame, no rules.
When I posted the first post, it was just a general header for this book.
And I wanted to share a little background about the book in post #2.

Everybody who feels like they want to share, please feel free to continue to share.
I think it will be a wonderful opportunity to individually search and study this book on our own, and then share what God is speaking to us.
We all may have a different outlook, but by sharing, we can all learn and understand Gods word in a more deep and real way.

Kevin Nazaroff

[seeking_truth_1]

1 ¶ God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:1-3 NKJV)

This is from the NKJV

The translation includes paragraph marks by the translator to assist in keeping the context

When I study, I will try and use those marks

Having said that, the thought would include verse 3

"who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high"

More to follow

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

1 ¶ God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:1-3 NKJV)

This is from the NKJV

The translation includes paragraph marks by the translator to assist in keeping the context

When I study, I will try and use those marks

Having said that, the thought would include verse 3

"who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high"

More to follow

Good info.
When I was going over chaper 1, I was thinking that verse 1 to 3 were one thought, but want's sure.

So it seems that the established thought in the first three verses is that Jesus is better (superior) to the prophets.

Here are a couple other versions of the first three verses.


1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.
2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.
3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.
NLT

1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
NIV


1 Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries.
2 Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end.
3 This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words! After he finished the sacrifice for sins, the Son took his honored place high in the heavens right alongside God,
The Message


1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
KJV


1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
NASB95

1 God having spoken in many parts and in many ways formerly to the fathers in the prophets,
2 at the end of these days has spoken to us in the person of the Son, whom he has established heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 who being the effulgence of his glory and the expression of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, having made by himself the purification of sins, set himself down on the right hand of the greatness on high,
DARBY


1:1 God in tyme past diversly and many wayes spake vnto the fathers by Prophetes:
1:2 but in these last dayes he hath spoken vnto vs by his sonne whom he hath made heyre of all thinges: by who also he made the worlde.
1:3 Which sonne beynge the brightnes of his glory and very ymage of his substance bearinge vp all thinges with the worde of his power hath in his awne person pourged oure synnes and is sitten on the right honde of the maiestie an hye
Tyndale New Testament (1526)

1:1 In days gone by, God spoke in many and varied ways to the Fathers through the prophets.
1:2 But now, in the acharit-hayamim, he has spoken to us through his Son, to whom he has given ownership of everything and through whom he created the universe.
1:3 This Son is the radiance of the Sh'khinah, the very expression of God's essence, upholding all that exists by his powerful word; and after he had, through himself, made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of HaG'dulah BaM'romim.
The Complete Jewish Bible

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

There is so much to glean from the book of Hebrews.

I thought we could do a little more background, so we study the book in context.


I was thinking the other day about the word "Hebrews"
I don't even know what that word means.


Here is the definition of the word Hebrew as it appears in the Old Testament.

HEBREW
5680 עִבְרִי [`Ibriy /ib•ree/]Eberite(i.e. Hebrew)
34 occurrences
AV translates as “Hebrew” 29 times,
“Hebrew woman” twice,
“Hebrew + 376” once,
“Hebrewess” once,
and “Hebrew man” once.
1 a designation of the patriarchs and the Israelites adj.
2 a designation of the patriarchs and the Israelites.
Hebrew = “one from beyond”.
The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

HE´BREW. This word first occurs as given to Abram by the Canaanites, Gen. 14:13 (13 Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram. Ge 14:13) , because he had crossed the Euphrates. The name is also derived from ˒êber, “beyond, on the other side,” Abraham and his posterity being called Hebrews in order to express a distinction between the races east and west of the Euphrates. It may also be derived from Heber, one of the ancestors of Abraham. Gen. 10:24 (24 Arpachshad became the father of Shelah; and Shelah became the father of Eber. Ge 10:24). The term Israelite was used by the Jews of themselves among themselves; the term Hebrew was the name by which they were known to foreigners. The latter was accepted by the Jews in their external relations; and after the general substitution of the word Jew, it still found a place in that marked and special feature of national contradistinction, the language.
Smith's Bible Dictionary

HEBREW. A word supposed to be a corruption of the name of Eber, who was an ancestor of Abraham, Gen. 10:24; 11:14–26. Applied to Abraham, Gen. 14:13; and his descendants, Gen. 39:14; 40:15; 43:32; Ex. 2:6; Deut. 15:12; 1 Sam. 4:9; 29:3; Jonah 1:9; Acts 6:1; 2 Cor. 11:22; Phil. 3:5. Used to denote the language of the Jews, John 5:2; 19:20; Acts 21:40; 22:2; 26:14; Rev. 9:11.
New Nave's


Here is the word Hebrew as it appears in the New Testament.

1445 Ἑβραῖος [Hebraios /heb•rah•yos/]
Five occurrences; AV translates as “Hebrew” five times.
1 Hebrew. 1A any one of the Jewish or Israelitish nations.
2 in a narrower sense, those who live in Palestine and use the language of the country.
3 all Jewish Christians, whether they spoke Aramaic or Greek.
The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible



And, lastly, here is the word Jew, as it appears in the Old Testament.
3064 יְהוּדִי [Yâhuwdiy /yeh•hoo•dee/]
76 occurrences;
AV translates as “Jew” 74 times,
“Jew + 376” once,
and “Judah” once.
1 Jew.
The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

JEW (a man of Judea). This name was properly applied to a member of the kingdom of Judah after the separation of the ten tribes. The term first makes its appearance just before the captivity of the ten tribes. 2 Kings 16:6. After the return the word received a larger application. Partly from the predominance of the members of the old kingdom of Judah among those who returned to Palestine, partly from the identification of Judah with the religious ideas and hopes of the people, all the members of the new state were called Jews (Judeans), and the name was extended to the remnants of the race scattered throughout the nations. Under the name of “Judeans” the people of Israel were known to classical writers. (Tac. H. v. 2, etc.) The force of the title “Jew” is seen particularly in the Gospel of St. John, who very rarely uses any other term to describe the opponents of our Lord. At an earlier stage of the progress of the faith it was contrasted with Greek as implying an outward covenant with God, Rom. 1:16; 2:9, 10; Col. 3:11, etc., which was the correlative of Hellenist [HELLENIST], and marked a division of language subsisting within the entire body, and at the same time less expressive than Israelite, which brought out with especial clearness the privileges and hopes of the children of Jacob. 2 Cor. 11:22; John 1:47.
Smith's Bible Dictionary

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

1:1 In days gone by, God spoke in many and varied ways to the Fathers through the prophets.
1:2 But now, in the acharit-hayamim, he has spoken to us through his Son, to whom he has given ownership of everything and through whom he created the universe.
1:3 This Son is the radiance of the Sh'khinah, the very expression of God's essence, upholding all that exists by his powerful word; and after he had, through himself, made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of HaG'dulah BaM'romim.
The Complete Jewish Bible

Does verse 2 imply that prophets are no longer used by God?

I am not sure myself.
Anybody have insight on this?

[seeking_truth_1]

Sorry... I've been a bit remiss on this topic

I'll go over the material and respond hopefully tomorrow

[Guest_Guest_*]

1:1 In days gone by, God spoke in many and varied ways to the Fathers through the prophets.
1:2 But now, in the acharit-hayamim, he has spoken to us through his Son, to whom he has given ownership of everything and through whom he created the universe.
1:3 This Son is the radiance of the Sh'khinah, the very expression of God's essence, upholding all that exists by his powerful word; and after he had, through himself, made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of HaG'dulah BaM'romim.
The Complete Jewish Bible

Does verse 2 imply that prophets are no longer used by God?

I am not sure myself.
Anybody have insight on this?

I think Hebrews 1:1 and 2 Peter 3:1-3 are saying basically the same about prophets no longer being used by God.
Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),
2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,
3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,

This would include our church proroke, which is the reason the Holy Spirit speaks to us directley.

[seeking_truth_1]

God spoke to the people in various ways

Through Creation:

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1

19 ¶ They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.
20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (Romans 1:19-20)

Through the prophets and ultimately through His Son... The Final Word

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

John MacArthur -
So God did speak and He didn't speak marginally and He didn't speak briefly and He didn't speak in a limited fashion and He didn't speak unclearly. The Old Testament is crystal clear, it lays out the nature of God, it lays out the nature of man, it lays out the problem of sin, it lays out the promise of redemption. And it presents the coming Redeemer, it's all there...it's all there.

So we see the preparation for Christ in the Old Testament. Then comes the presentation of Christ, look at verse 2. "God, who did speak, in these last days..." That refers to the Messianic time, the time since the coming of Christ. "...Has spoken to us in His Son." He once spoke through human prophets, and now He's spoken in His Son. No prophet has ever grasped the whole truth, only Jesus is the whole truth. The prophets got a part of it. One prophet a little here, another prophet a little there. None of them got it all. Twelve minor prophets, five major prophets, a total of 17 prophets, you go to those books and you read a little bit here, a little bit there. Samuel was a prophet, Moses was a prophet. Moses got the five books of the Pentateuch and on and on you go, and God was speaking. But none of them really had it all. They were all, in a sense, given bits and pieces and fragments of the revelation of God. But when Jesus came, He was the full revelation of God, fully revealed. Jesus revealed God by being God, no longer in diverse manners, no longer in diverse ways, no longer in bits and pieces and fragments stretched out over 1500 years, but now God speaks in one person, in one time in history, "In these last days God has spoken in His Son." He is the full revelation of God. When He spoke, God spoke. When He acted, God acted. He is the full revelation of God. He even said, "If you seen Me, you've seen the Father."

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

1 ¶ God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:1-3 NKJV)
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In the book of Acts, we see that the fullness of the promise is in fact Jesus Christ.
Anything else that claims to be a new revelation of Jesus, apart from scripture, is anti-Christ and from the devil.

On the contrary, I do believe that a re-newed revelation of the Biblical version does need to be constantly revealed on a daily basis.



32 “And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers,

33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’ Acts 13:32-33 NASB

[stevepiv]

1 ¶ God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:1-3 NKJV)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



In the book of Acts, we see that the fullness of the promise is in fact Jesus Christ.
Anything else that claims to be a new revelation of Jesus, apart from scripture, is anti-Christ and from the devil.

On the contrary, I do believe that a re-newed revelation of the Biblical version does need to be constantly revealed on a daily basis.



32 “And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers,

33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’ Acts 13:32-33 NASB

I agree. Great Post!

[seeking_truth_1]

There is nothing new when it comes to Scripture

You are not to add to or take away from what Scripture states

18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.
19 And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person's share (Revelation 22:18-19)

There are those who subscribe to "progressive revelation" where God can "change His mind" and contradict Himself based upon the words of "prophets"

Mormons, Bahá'í Faith, Tibetan Buddhists and other non-Christian groups subscribe to this

When anything is not contrasted against the Word of God, error is introduced

That is why cults will attack the veracity of Scripture

This is an age old trick used by Satan as far back as the Garden

1 ¶ The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?"
2 "Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden," the woman replied.
3 "It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, 'You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'"
4 "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman.
5 "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." (Genesis 3:1-5)

I believe that the gifts of the Spirit are available today

17 'In the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18)

What need to be done is these utterances must be compared to Scripture

If someone said, "Hey lets go rob a bank, thus saith the Lord" you could go to Scripture and find

"You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15)

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

Moving on to verses 4 through 14...

Heb 1:4-14 NASB
4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say,

“YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”? (Ps 2:7)

And again,

“I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM
AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME”? (2 Sam 7:14)

6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,

“AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.” (Ps 97:7)

7 And of the angels He says,

“WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS,
AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.” (Ps 104:4)

8 But of the Son He says,

“YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,
AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM. (Ps 45:6)

9

“YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;
THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU
WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.” (Ps 45:7)

10 And,

“YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,
AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; (Ps 102:25)

11

THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN;
AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, (Ps 102:26)

12

AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP;
LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED.
BUT YOU ARE THE SAME,
AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.” (Ps 102:26, 27)

13 But to which of the angels has He ever said,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES
A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET”? (Ps 110:1)

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
Heb 1:4-14 NASB
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

Heb 1:4-14 NASB
4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say,

“YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”? (Ps 2:7)

And again,

“I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM
AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME”? (2 Sam 7:14)

6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,

“AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.” (Ps 97:7)

7 And of the angels He says,

“WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS,
AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.” (Ps 104:4)

8 But of the Son He says,

“YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,
AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM. (Ps 45:6)

9

“YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;
THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU
WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.” (Ps 45:7)

10 And,

“YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,
AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; (Ps 102:25)

11

THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN;
AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, (Ps 102:26)

12

AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP;
LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED.
BUT YOU ARE THE SAME,
AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.” (Ps 102:26, 27)

13 But to which of the angels has He ever said,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES
A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET”? (Ps 110:1)

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
Heb 1:4-14 NASB
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would like to explore verse 4.
What do the words "having become" mean?
The KJV translates it as "being made"

The greek word that is used here for "having become", or "being made", is -
(ginomai), which is strongs number 1096.

ginomai is explained by Matthew Henry thus -

When it is said that Christ was made so much better than the angels, we are not to imagine that he was a mere creature, as the angels are; the word genomenos, when joined with an adjective, is nowhere to be rendered created, and here may very well be read, being more excellent, as the Syriac version hath it. We read ginestheµ ho Theos aleµtheµs—let God be true, not made so, but acknowledged to be so.

John MacArthur notes -

The Greek verb used here refers to a change of state, not a change of existence. The Son in His divine essence has eternally existed, but for a while He was made lower than the angels (2:9) and afterward was exalted to an infinitely higher position by virtue of what He had accomplished in His redemptive work.

Jesus, who is God and always was God, ...was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. Heb 2:9 NASB

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

Heb 1:4-14 NASB
4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say,

“YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”? (Ps 2:7)

And again,

“I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM
AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME”? (2 Sam 7:14)

6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,

“AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.” (Ps 97:7)

7 And of the angels He says,

“WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS,
AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.” (Ps 104:4)

8 But of the Son He says,

“YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,
AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM. (Ps 45:6)

9

“YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;
THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU
WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.” (Ps 45:7)

10 And,

“YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,
AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; (Ps 102:25)

11

THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN;
AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, (Ps 102:26)

12

AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP;
LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED.
BUT YOU ARE THE SAME,
AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.” (Ps 102:26, 27)

13 But to which of the angels has He ever said,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES
A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET”? (Ps 110:1)

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
Heb 1:4-14 NASB
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All of these Old Testament quotes from chapter one are presenting Jesus as THE Lord and Savior.
Jesus is presented here in chapter one in a very special way.

Is there any way to mis-interpret the context these verses are proclaiming?
That Jesus is indeed God the Son.

If a Christian does not believe that Jesus is God, what do they call Jesus?
Is He a man?
Is He an angel?
Is He a prophet?
In verse 6 the angels are commanded to worship Him.
Why worship anybody but God?

How would someone who denies the deity of Jesus describe who He is?

I want to again post this quote about the distinction between the book of Hebrews and the book of Romans.
Coleridge said that Romans revealed the necessity of the Christian faith but that Hebrews revealed the superiority of the Christian faith.

Yes, Jesus is superior.
He is the Lord and the Master.


Kevin Nazaroff

[KevinPolyaNazaro...]

1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
Hebrews 2:1-4 AV
_________________________________________________________________

One of the reasons the book of Hebrews was written was to warn the Jews who were "converting" to Christianity not to turn back to the temple.
God does not want us to "slip" back into religion.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:23–25 NAS

I think the same can be said today concerning any religion.
And for those of us who were born into the molokan brotherhood, there is a danger of "slipping" into a false sense of security.


In verse one, the words "the more earnest" are translated in other parts of the bible in this manner -
more abundantly, more exceedingly, more abundant, much more, more frequent, the rather, exceedingly, and the more earnest.


Here are some verses that help explain the importance of heeding the Christ Jesus.
22 “Moses said, ‘THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you.
23 ‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
24 “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days.
25 “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’
26 “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
Acts 3:22–26 NAS

15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Luke 8:15 AV

11 “So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God.
Joshua 23:11 NAS